6,000 Shares in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Acquired by Wexford Capital LP

Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VTR. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,467.04. This represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 311,481 shares of company stock worth $21,385,983. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush increased their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Ventas Stock Down 0.3%

VTR opened at $65.45 on Tuesday. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.66 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $29.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 344.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.94 and a 200-day moving average of $63.94.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Ventas's revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

About Ventas

Ventas Inc NYSE: VTR is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments.

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